IMC strike day II: Safai bandh threat

INDORE MUNICIPAL Corporation (IMC) headquarters wore a deserted look on Tuesday as the indefinite strike to protest the assault on City Engineer N S Tomar by local BJP leader Manish ?Mama? Sharma entered the second day.

INDORE MUNICIPAL Corporation (IMC) headquarters wore a deserted look on Tuesday as the indefinite strike to protest the assault on City Engineer N S Tomar by local BJP leader Manish ‘Mama’ Sharma entered the second day.

The striking employees marched to the SP office at noon and submitted a memorandum demanding immediate arrest of the accused and withdrawal of the ‘fabricated’ case lodged against Tomar at Anusuchit Jaati Kalyan (AJK) police station by one of the assailants. They further threatened to launch a safai bandh (sanitation strike) if the demands were not met by Wednesday.

Later in the day, members of the Rajput Samaj also submitted a memorandum to SP Anshuman Yadav demanding the arrest of the assailants. The SP assured both groups that the AJK complaint against Tomar was being investigated and legal action would be initiated if the reports were found to be untrue.

Meanwhile, reacting sharply to the attack, Mayor Uma Shashi Sharma declared that she would take up the matter with party leaders, and even Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “We will not tolerate such goondagardi (hooliganism),” declared the Mayor.

“IMC officials have been attacked in the past, too. Although all victims lodged complaints against their assailants, these were later withdrawn. In retrospect, this seems to have been a wrong move, as it emboldened others to try strong-arm tactics. How long can we allow our officers and employees to be beaten up like this,” she demanded rhetorically.

The Mayor also expressed astonishment that a case was lodged against Tomar even though he was clearly the aggrieved party. Earlier, IMC employees led by Indore Nagar Palik Nigam Karamchari Mahasangh president Ramlal Yadav gathered at the Corporation headquarters at 10 am to protest the attack.

Addressing the gathering Yadav severely denounced the assault and called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators and withdrawal of the complaint filed at the AJK police station. The strikers then marched to the SP office in a procession and submitted a memorandum in support of their demands.